[BRLTTY] [OT] How to integrate BSI into a Linux cell phone?

[Jackie McBride]

Hey Rich, might I please engage w/you off list?

On 8/17/20, Chevelle <cstrobel at crosslink.net> wrote:
>      Braille screen input would be fine, but the first challenge would
> be to get Linux installed and have some accessible applications. I find
> it hard to imagine using Braille Screen Input for any serious work.
> Many Braille displays already have keys that allow Braille input.  If I
> remember correctly, some company is selling a $99 Braille keyboard that
> has Blue tooth.  I would think your time would be better spent on making
> a Linux distribution accessible, on phones.
>
> I don't want to discourage you.
>
> This site shows Linux projects for use on phones.
>
> https://many.tuxphones.com/
>
>
> On 8/12/2020 11:39 AM, Rich wrote:
>> Although this question is somewhat off-topic, I'm hoping that some folks
>> here
>> will find it interesting enough to give me a bit of slack.  Anyway, here
>> goes...
>>
>> Background
>>
>> I'm a sighted, semi-retired, volunteer developer who is very interested in
>> the
>> possibility of re-purposing Android cell phones as blind-accessible
>> computing
>> and communication devices.  There are a number of projects working on
>> re-using
>> the billions of aging cell phones that are out there.  Some, such as
>> LineageOS,
>> start with an open source version of Android.  Others, such as
>> postmarketOS and
>> Mobian, start with a more vanilla flavor of Linux (e.g., Alpine, Debian).
>>
>> Although the first approach makes tons of Android software available, most
>> of
>> this is GUI-based, so accessibility will generally be a challenge.  Basing
>> the
>> system on Linux allows a wealth of CLI-based software to be used and helps
>> to
>> anchor the resulting system more closely in the open source community.
>>
>> Challenges
>>
>> One of the biggest challenges, I suspect, will be providing an accessible
>> form
>> of text input.  Most screen-based keyboards for cell phones aren't
>> suitable,
>> a physical keyboard would add cost and bulk, and voice recognition
>> (without the
>> support of cloud computing) still seems to be beyond the phone's
>> capabilities.
>>
>> So, I've been speculating about how to support Braille Screen Input (BSI)
>> on a
>> Linux-based cell phone.  BSI is available on Android, Fire OS, and iOS
>> (please
>> let me know if I'm missing any others!), but I haven't found any
>> indication that
>> anyone is working on supporting it for any form of Linux.
>>
>> I think I have a handle on how to architect the front end of the code,
>> using a
>> set of Actors (lightweight processes) running on a foundation of Elixir,
>> Erlang,
>> and OTP.  However, I'm totally out of my depth when it comes to
>> interfacing the
>> code to other apps, the window system, and the rest of the OS.
>>
>> Should I be looking into D-Bus, GTK, Qt, or what?  Also, are there any
>> ways the
>> code could leverage BRLTTY, Emacspeak, Orca, etc?  How would typical blind
>> users
>> want a BSI subsystem to act in this context?  I'm really confused here, so
>> I'm
>> asking for advice, comments, and so forth.
>>
>> -r
>>
>> P.S.  There is at least one physical keyboard which isn't totally out of
>> the
>> question for use with a cell phone.  It's a folding keyboard/touchpad
>> combo that
>> supports both Bluetooth and USB.  It's about 6" x 3.8" x 0.5" when folded
>> up and
>> 12" x 3.8" x 0.25" when unfolded:
>>
>> Foldable Bluetooth Keyboard, Jelly Comb Dual Mode Bluetooth & USB
>> Wired Rechargable Portable Mini BT Wireless Keyboard with Touchpad Mouse
>> for Android, Windows, PC, Tablet-Black
>> https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07S9XZDGY
>>
>>
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